Stone Circle You wanna tell me what's goin' on in that freaky head of yours?

When you move out of your parent's house, get your own apartment, get your first job, what do you do next? You go and show off to your friends! Nunataq had not forgotten about the white, red-eyed Easthollow girl with whom she had had memorable adventures together. Probably, another reason, why the mute one liked the talkative one, was the fact that they managed to get along without straining each other's mental faculties on, how to communicate. They just did the same way people from two different countries do over the third beer. Does not matter, what you say, everything is great.

Nunataq found her old home with ease, went through all the old and familiar spots, unearthed some long forgotten cache and ate the meagre contents. Then arrived to the fence that had once divided Easthollow from Bearclaw valley and been a place of meetups between the two friends in the past, sniffed around the border for a bit and left a message there. After waiting quietly and patiently (for 2 minutes) did not make Arlette materialize, she tipped her head back and called for her friend.

@Arlette

When Arlette heard the howl from her friend, the girl almost jumped out of her skin in excitement. Arlette dropped everything she was doing, leaving a confused mother behind her as she ditched her hunting lesson. She could hear her mother call out her name but Arlette couldn't let Nuna waiting. "Nunataq is here, Mom!!!" she shouted back at her before doubling her speed towards the howl. Later she would apologize to her mother for ditching her but Nuna had been higher on her list.

Arlette grinned when she saw Nuna. She beamed in excitement. "NUNA!," she called out. Clearly Arlette was happy to see her friend. "Hi! You are here! I missed you!," she bubbled excitedly. She greeted the female as excitedly as she always would. Then she settled down and looked at her friend for any distress that might be related to her move. She was not sure if Nuna was distressed. 'You okay?"

19855

It is peculiar, how time and distance between two friends can make one forget all the miniscule details that they share and why they like them. If it is a month or two between meetings and actual communication with each other, then all you remember are general facts and occasionally the not so very likeable characteristics also surface.

Nunataq too had been so absorbed with everything new that had happened to her during the past weeks, especially of, how much more of a challenge life had become after her leaving the nest, that the particulars she enjoyed about Arlette had become covered with dust. And this was swept away and brought in the sunshine, when her albino friend came crashing through the forest and almost taking Nuna off her feet in her excitement to meet her again.

Though Nuna had intended to keep her stoic, grown-up face, the enthusiasm was so contagious that she let it crumble and joined in the happy "dance" of meeting her bestie after a long, long time. Her eyes were smiling, her tail was wagging and all in all it was great to be here again. And rather than replying to Arlette's question, Nunataq aimed to nip lightly at her shoulder and engage her in a game of zoomies.

Arlette knew, of course, that Nuna was not going to reply to her. She could always try. It had never bothered her that her friend didn't verbally talk back to her. She was still her best friend even if she talked or not. The nip on the shoulder was a clear enough indicator how she was going and Arlette instantly jumped up with all fours in the air. As she landed she rushed off to then circle back around, clearly Nuna's enthusiasm was just as contagious for her as well.

Arlette was still as playful as a child. She realized that she might need to act more as an adult but Arlette disliked being as serious as her mother. She liked it better when she could play with someone. Ira had been a good example with that. The female was always very serious and even she seemed to have fun sliding down. Arlette was running like crazy getting all her energy, and frustration from waiting, out of her system. She ran over the border and then glanced over her shoulder. "Come Nuna! You should see our stones!"

One thing people learn from owning dogs is that you can have in-depth conversations even if one of the parties does not use words to reply. Looks, little grimaces and mannerisms, smiles, stretches and wagging tails, yawns and playful growls tell you just as much. They say that a true friend is the one you can sit in a mutually comfortable silence just as well as filling that time with conversation. And dogs are a prime example of it. Cat and other pet people would probably have a say in this too.

The same comparison could be drawn between Nunataq and every person that she had a meaningful relationship with. If they did not mind her silence, she did not mind their noise. In the end all that mattered was that you felt happy and safe in this person's presence. Arlette with her spark of childish joy that she would hopefully retain even in her adult life was just the kind of person for Nuna. The mute girl did not have to pretend to be better than she was, because her albino took her as she was.

She joined in the chase, letting the Easthollow girl win half the time and then catching up with her at other moments. And, when Arlette took the lead and invited her to follow inland, Nunataq did not hesitate one bit and followed, curious to see, where were they heading.

Arlette didn't even know the rules when it came to taking 'strangers' into their home. But Nuna wasn't a stranger to her. She was her best friend! Arlette lead the way to the heart of the territory. The young female looked excited when the stones were already visible. "Our stones!" The girl grinned and looked over her shoulder to Nuna.

She trotted up the hill until she was in the middle. She expected the female to follow her. "This is our Stone Circle. Most stones have special meaning," she spoke, she looked at Nuna to see if she was interested hearing about them then she might tell her more.

Usually Nunataq was not particularly impressed by landmarks just as a person might not give a damn about architecture, when visiting a big city for the first time. She preferred practical use over esthetics, but occasionally something very, very spectacular managed to get through the thick skull of hers and touch a rather rudimentary part of her brain, where sense of beauty was sleeping there like a princess from a fairy tale, waiting for that magical kiss. Those never came, of course. And many times - this being no exception - this "princess" was awoken with a bucket of cold water and a scream "WOW! LOOK AT THAT!"

Because these stones, arranged in a circle amazed Nunataq and she looked from one to the other with wide-eyes and mouth agape. They were huge and she was small compared to them. She took her time to admire them and then looked at Arlette inquiringly. She had had the equivalent of a Tranformer in a garage hidden here all this time and she showed this to her friend only now?

Arlette grinned with intense glee when Nuna seemed to like the stones of Easthollow. She watched the female explore and look at the stones in amazement. Arlette could tell that Nuna wanted to know more. "This is Stone Circle. It is the heart of Easthollow. Here we do our gatherings but also remember the ones who passed," she spoke with a nod. She understood that concept better now. To think that she tried to dig at the stones was kind of embarrassing.

"Some of the stones have a name. The tallest one there is the Father Stone, and next to it is the Mother Stone," Arlette explained. "You can go to them for guidance or give them an offer! My momma's mother is buried at the Mother Stone. And at the Father Stone there is another wolf. I think the leader before Mama," she explained excitedly. She was not really sure if Nuna was into this kind of stuff. Then again, Arlette was certain Nuna would tell her if she wasn't. That's right, she could tell by Nuna's expressions if she was into it or not.

If Arlette had known Nunataq's history regarding desecrating graves in order to claim, what she considered a valuable food source, perhaps she would not have taken her friend to the Stone Circle, where the most important people of her family were buried. With one ear turned and tuned in to the lengthy string of words the Easthollower was bubbling, Nuna approached the Mother stone, walked around it and stopped, sniffing intently at the ground at the foot of it. With the snow and frozen ground the faint scent of a rotten long-gone flesh was hardly perceptible, but it was there.

Curious. Nuna retreated briefly, tilting her head to the side to regard the spot inquisitively. Then she went over to the Father stone, surprised to find a similar smell pattern here too. What was this place? A cache? She looked up, then let her gaze travel to the rest of the stone monuments and finally back at her friend with a furrowed brow and slightly confused expression.

It seemed that Nuna was confused. Arlette completely understood. She had been very confused as a pup as she thought it was a cache as well. "Yeah. I feel you," she nodded. "I thought it was a cache before and I wanted to see where the rock ended! But then pack mates would get mad," she admitted, though.... Greyback had not been really mad but he stopped her from doing some digging. Plus with her pleasing nature she felt that he head been a bit upset.

"Wolves lie buried there," she spoke. "And we remember them," she explained to her friend. Perhaps it would make more sense to her now. Basically wolves lie in the ground, the ones who passed. However, Arlette couldn't say that she remembered the wolves who were buried here.

It's odd that sometimes you don't need actual words (or in Nuna's case inability to comprehend), but you can understand each other pretty well. The mute girl heard the sympathy and explanation that she needed in Arlette's tone and body language, and rather then pressing on a further investigation, she moved away from the rocks and came closer to her friend.

Their "talk" was interrputed by light footfalls against the snow covered ground, Nuna was first to catch it and her demeanour changed from neutral to one that was alert and defensive. "rrrrr-WUFF!" she gave a low bark and cast a glance to the side to see, what Arlette had to say in the matter.

Valette heard Arlette's excited babbling and wondered who she was talking to about their stones. The mother trotted closer up the hill. What was her daughter saying about digging around the stones? That was concerning. Valette rushed closer to the top of the hill where the rocks stood. When she arrived she instantly noticed the intruder. The other brown colored female had a defensive stance. Valette was confused for a moment. A stranger in the heart of their territory. She instantly got defense as well.

"Arlette! Who is this?," Valette spoke, sounding strict. She thought she had thought her daughter better than this, letting in stranger into their heart. However, Valette didn't realize that this was Nuna the one where Arlette had talked about a lot. Valette took another look of the female and realized she had seen the pup before. Valette lifted her head and eyed over the stranger. "Wait- you were with Xan's group were you not?," she questioned.

Arlette noticed that Nuna took a respectful distance. She quirked up her lips into a soft smile. She was about to speak again when her friend grew alert and barked. Just at that moment her mother came over the hill. Uh oh... Arlette's ears flopped back as her mother looked mad. She disliked adults being mad at her. "Mamma! It's Nuna!!," she instantly spoke and jumped between her mother and Nunataq. She was pretty sure that Nuna could defend herself but she didn't want them to do any sort of fighting.

"Mamma! Mamma! I let her in. Don't be mad. Nuna is my bestest friend. I wanted her to learn more about our stones and culture," she offered and tried to wag her tail to look less guilty. "Yes! Yes! She was in the Bearclaw pack!" Arlette didn't realize that Nuna was family by blood. The young girl just saw Nuna as her friend. But since Nuna was family Valette would probably be mild and accept her being inside of the territory "Don't be mad! Nuna is special," Arlette assured her mother.

Nunataq's instincts had not been wrong, someone indeed was coming their way and soon a dark-pelted she-wolf appeared at the edge of the stone circle and approached them. She was defensive and frustrated for some reason and seeing, how Arlette's demeanour changed from cheerful and careless, to one that was somewhat scared and appeasing, made the mute girl eye the adult suspiciously. Instead of replying to Valette's question, she moved back to stand right next to her albino friend, lowered her head and with her distrustful gaze fixed at the stranger's face, she let out a low growl. Nunataq did not know that she was addressing the queen of the hollow, her aunt and Arlette's mother - all she saw was a potential threat that had upset her friendly guide.

Valette stopped when her daughter was telling her that this was her friend. She glanced at the strange female as she growled. It was rather bold in Valette's opinion, but she was not going to correct the girl. Valette liked to see that Arlette had a friend that protected her. The mother was surprised to hear that she was from Bearclaw, then she was family! "Oh so this is Nuna you talked about?," Valette asked and then relaxed more. She dropped her strict look and relaxed her body language more.

"Arlette, you cannot just invite strangers over the pack's border without letting me know first," she scolded slightly at her daughter. "But, in this case it is alright. It turns out that Nuna is family then, if she is from Bearclaw," Valette spoke with a smile. "I'm sorry for being strict Nuna," she apologized. "You are welcome in Easthollow," Valette spoke with a nod.

Arlette nodded excitedly. "Yes, Nunataq!!" She looked at the side where Nuna was now. It was a good feeling that Nuna was ready to protect her. Just like how she would protect Nuna as well. Not that she would need protection probably. Arlette's ears flopped back when her mother scolded her. She didn't understand why she couldn't show a friend her home and make them learn about Easthollow.

It seemed it didn't matter since her mother told her that Nuna was welcome because she was family. Arlette was surprised to hear that. So, Nuna was related to her? But she was all dark in colors and very different from her. Now she realized, her siblings and mother were all dark in color. Why was she light in color? She would have to ask her mother that later. Arlette turned to Nuna and grinned. "Now you can always come here!! We will have so much fun!"

Nunataq observed the older she-wolf's body language and especially expressions with an intensity of a sniper that is ready to shoot the fateful bullet at any moment. And as long as the other remained tense, so did the brown-pelted adolescent, ready to step in and shield Arlette, if it came to it. But the figurative rain-cloud with thunders and lightenings cleared up, when the two Easthollow residents had come to some sort of a resolution. When Valette smiled and looked at her kindly, her niece put down her battle axe, straightened up from her defensive position and regarded her with a calm curiousity, being even so bold as to stretch her neck and sniff the particular scent of the unknown lady. She was important in some way and Nunataq wanted to memorize her for future reference.

Valette realized that Arlette's friend had not talked yet. She had not seem afraid enough that she wouldn't talk. Strange. Valette glanced at her curiously as she had expected some reaction from her words. The young female only nosed in her direction. Valette turned her eyes to Arlette in question. She had never encountered a child that didn't talk, in fact Arlette was quite the opposite. Only Keen seemed to come close but she did talk, sometimes.

Maybe it was some sort of family trait that sometimes came forward, just like Arlette's albinism. Though Arlette's nose was still a liver color instead the usual pinkness. Perhaps it was some incomplete albinism. Valette only knew that she loved her daughter whatever coloring she had. "Well, I will let you two play then," Valette spoke and gave the two some room.

- Val exit -

Arlette noticed her mother looking at Nuna with confusion and then to her. "Nuna doesn't talk," Arlette quickly explained. Arlette never blamed her friend for not talking. Arlette felt they could communicate more than enough. The girl watched as her mother took her leave. Arlette was glad for her mother's approval but hearing Nuna was family was still a bit of a shock for her.

Arlette bumped Nuna with her nose. "Okay! There is something else you should see!" She spoke. The female moved to the other side of the circle that looked out over their fields. In the fields was the herd of bison. They were standing close together like one big form. Some were trying to graze under the snow, some were resting. "These a bison! Have you ever seen them?,' she asked her friend.

After some more talking the older lady left them and Nunataq followed her with a relieved gaze. Even though she had turned out to be a good guy in the end, she had not quite forgotten, how she had upset her white friend. Therefore she turned to face her with a wide, toothy grin, ready to continue at, where they had left off earlier.

She did not disappoint, leading her away from the rocks towards a clearing, where huge hairy, horned beasts had assembled in the distance. Having never seen them before, Nuna stood and observed them for a long time, then with a quick sideways look offered her partner in crime to have a closer look.

Nuna seemed eager to get closer to them. Arlette hesitated and then stepped forward. "Be careful because they are very dangerous," Arlette spoke. They could however, go a bit closer than this. Arlette trotted down the slope towards the bison. She stopped at the bottom of the hill. As she stood on the same level as the massive animals she realized how small she was in comparison.

"We shouldn't get closer, they will hurt you with their horns," Arlette whispered. She felt kind of unnerved by the large creatures. Luckily she could run towards the stones if they were going after her. "The adults hunt them. They are clearly crazy," she spoke. "Mama wants to teach me to be a bison hunter but I don't know if I want to be one," Arlette chatted to Nuna.

The big, furry fatties were formidabble beasts, making even daredevil Nunataq to stop in her attempt to get to them as close as possible. Their size was impressing and their calm, when two predators were around, was confusing and disconcerning. The mute girl had encountered deer of many kinds and sizes, most had been taller than her, but they had been shy creatures. Always tense, always on the lookout for danger, running from the slightest movement and noise. That's, what made them difficult to hunt. If scared, they were very fast runners.

This was an entirely different category of beasts. They did not fear her presence, they really did not care for the two adolescents watching them and Nunataq faced a question she asked herself only rarely - why was it so? Arlette said something, but did not sound too happy about the prospect of cutting the distance between them and the herd, and her friend, feeling protective and ever watchful of albino youth's discomfort, obeyed and returned to her, bumping her nose against her shoulder and looking her briefly in the eyes, as if telling her not to worry. They did not have to do anything Arlette did not wish to be engaged in.

Arlette offered a kind smile when Nunataq returned to her when they got too close for her comfort. The female returned a nudge to her and a soft smile. Her red eyes traveled to the bison herd that didn't even seem bothered. Still, Arlette was on guard for if they were going to attack them. "It takes a lot of effort to hunt them," she explained. "They do not run, they defend," she added.

Arlette turned to her friend. 'You like the territory so far?," she asked. She wondered what else she could show the girl. It would have less of a wow-factor as the bison and Stone Circle were quite the eye catchers. "Next time I will come and visit you at your home," she smiled. She was curious to see where Nunataq lived.

Nunataq was not too difficult to impress - she found joy in the simple and noticed the small things that others overlooked. Maybe because she did not waste her time talking and was used to observing keenly. Therefore, if she had been able to reply to Arlette's question, she would have said that Easthollow as just as great as any new place that she got to set her paw in, but it would always stand out among the rest, because her friend lived here.

Next time, when Arlette would stop by at Nunataq's residence, the mute girl would greet and take her friend around the hollow, without asking a permission and probably getting in the same kind of trouble that the albino girl had got in today. That is - if anyone noticed.

I will archive this, but I can start a new one for the duo. I really like, how their relationship is developing.